No thanks: Council opts against referendum aid

By
TOM SEBO

Feb. 25, 2013, 5:46 p.m.

GOULBURN Mulwaree councillors have refused to pay the Local Government and Shires Association (LGSA) nearly $15,000 in contributions to help fund an advertising campaign to support a possible referendum to gain constitutional recognition for of local governments.

No thanks: Council opts against referendum aid

GOULBURN Mulwaree councillors have refused to pay the Local Government and Shires Association (LGSA) nearly $15,000 in contributions to help fund an advertising campaign to support a possible referendum to gain constitutional recognition for of local governments.

The
association hopes the referendum will be held in conjunction with the September
14 federal election.

The
government is currently waiting on a report from the parliamentary standing committee
before it makes up its mind on whether or not to push forward with the ballot
but if it does and the motion is accepted, it will allow councils direct access
to commonwealth funding for the first time in our nation’s history.

The
campaign – being run through the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA)
– will cost ratepayers across Australia more than $10 million dollars.

Referendums,
however, don’t have a good track record of delivering results. In 2012,
councillors voted not to support the campaign, labelling it as “a big waste”
and wrote to the ALGA suggesting it develop “an alternative and practical approach”.
They didn’t listen and pushed ahead with the campaign anyway. The only response
Council got to their query was an invoice.

Now,
councillors are anteing up and refusing to foot the bill. A motion to do so was
unanimously passed at Tuesday night’s meeting.

Mayor
Geoff Kettle told thePost that while he was personally in favour of constitutional recognition
he questioned why they were being invoiced for contributions to a campaign they
never supported.

He
said they would again be writing to the LGSA and telling them they wouldn’t pay.

General
Manager Chris Berry warned councillors that a condition of being part of the
LGSA was financially supporting their campaigns. He suggested it may also lead
to a situation where they were told to either pay up or risk being expelled
from the organisation.

When
the Post contacted LGSA president Cr
Keith Rhoades, he said he respected Council’s decision and that it was their
democratic right not to pay. He said the Association was hopeful that the
referendum would gain government support but they wouldn’t know for sure until
late March.

If
the bid is unsuccessful all money collected from councils will be returned.

Alternatively,
if it is successful the LGSA will write to Goulburn Mulwaree asking them to
re3consider its position.